Heh (9)

Beware the pulse

On October 16th, researchers from Boeing and the US Air Force successfully test-launched a missile capable of remotely disabling PCs and other electronics with only a burst of powerful radio waves. The test was held over the Western Utah Desert as part of the Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP), a collaborative effort from Boeing Phantom Works and the US Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate. The project's aim is to create a missile that can remotely paralyze electronic systems with minimal collateral damage — a capability that, according to Boeing, could one day transform modern warfare.

His master's voice (2)

Just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, Bruce Gardner, of Orem, called police saying his house was being broken into. He said nobody was home, but he had just received a phone call on his cell phone from his house phone, and he could hear banging and scratching in the phone.

Officers went to Gardner's home, and entered. They investigated, but did not see any evidence of forced entry and nothing appeared out of place. Police couldn't locate the phone, but left after they concluded nothing had been taken.

Several hours after police left, Gardner called back saying he had an explanation for what had happened.

"Apparently his dog had gotten a hold of his cordless home phone and in the midst of chewing on it, it happened to hit 'redial,' called the man's cell phone," said Orem Police Department Sgt. Craig Martinez.

October 15, 2012

Breaking news...

More of a rush than he expected, I'll guess

BASE jumper Richard Henriksen was performing the stunt for a TV show on the NRK TV network in Norway.

Video footage of the accident shows Henriksen making his first rotation around the metal bar when it suddenly collapses.

The father-of-five then flies off the cliff head-first, and those watching can be heard letting out a huge gasp.

In an extremely lucky chain of events, Henriksen survived the 1200m fall. He narrowly missed falling against the rock face of the cliff and managed to open his parachute on the way down, NRK TV reports.

What's wrong with this picture?

NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. - A man tried to rob a bank of $1 because he hoped to be sent to a federal prison nearby, police said.

Jeffrey McMullen, a 50-year-old regular customer of an AmeriServ bank in the western Pennsylvania town of Northern Cambria, handed notes to two tellers Friday demanding a dollar, according to a police complaint reported by The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown.

The tellers thought it was a joke, police said. [...]

Police say McMullen apparently wanted to be prosecuted federally so he could be taken to a prison in central Pennsylvania. Police could not immediately say why.

Busted! (8)

Of all the places to unintentionally drop an illegal drug, inside of a courtroom right in front of a police officer has to be among the worst.

Which is exactly what happened to New Orleans assistant city attorney Jason Cantrell. The prosecutor found himself on the other side of the law when a marijuana cigarette fell out of his pocket and onto the floor during a discussion he was having with two NOPD officers inside of the Orleans Parish Magistrate. [...]

He's also caused quite a problem for his wife, who is currently running for New Orleans City Council. LaToya Cantrell is staying in the race, but she was forced to distance herself from her hubby's goofy crime.

Parabatix

Uncertain news

Schrödinger's cat, the enduring icon of quantum mechanics, has been defied. By making constant but weak measurements of a quantum system, physicists have managed to probe a delicate quantum state without destroying it – the equivalent of taking a peek at Schrodinger's metaphorical cat without killing it. The result should make it easier to handle systems such as quantum computers that exploit the exotic properties of the quantum world.